With Coronavirus cases continuing to spike, much of Europe still remain closed to most countries. As per Italy, non-essential travel from non-EU countries is prohibited. But, hey, technology is here to help us travel without leaving home! Here are 6 ways to take a virtual trip to Italy:
1. Cook Italian!
Cooking, spending time with family, friends, and sharing food, as well as testing new recipes, are perfect ways to celebrate Italy and our culture. Whether you decide to pick an Italian recipe online or from a book, just cook with love and you’ll get great results.
If you are already good at cooking or familiar with traditional recipes, you can try to upgrade your skills by booking an English language cooking class with Massimo Bottura, the head chef at Osteria Francescana – a three-Michelin-star restaurant based in Modena voted the best restaurant in the world in 2016 and 2018. Massimo will teach you modern Italian cooking for little more than 16 euros per month, billed annually.
2 – Visit an Italian museum online
Due to the temporary closure of most museums, many of them are giving the opportunity to visit galleries and exhibitions online, through well-organized and free virtual tours.
You can download the app Google Arts & Culture featuring content from over 2000 leading museums, or you can check out the website of the Italian museum that most interests you and see if they offer the possibility to take virtual tours.
The following are some great museums that offer this service:
- Uffizi Gallery in Florence;
- Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums;
- Egypt Museum in Turin;
- Canova Experience in Possagno (Treviso);
- Ducati Museum, Borgo Panigale (Bologna).
3 – Take Italian language lessons
Learning Italian is the best way to take a trip to Italy without leaving your home. Taking Italian lessons will make you feel closer to Italy. Language is the road map of a culture, after all.
By the way, I can help you with that. Check this link.
4 – Watch an Italian movie or a movie set in Italy
A lot can be learned about a culture from the movies that are produced in it, and this is especially true when it comes to Italy. Italian movie industry has given birth to many films that are universally acclaimed as masterpieces.
If you are willing to take a virtual trip to Italy from your sofa, there’s no better way than watching an Italian movie. Besides, it can be a great tool for learning the language and getting used to a variety of accents and expressions that you may encounter in Italy. Here you can find a short list of Italian movies that I warmly reccommend. As for non-italian movies set in Italy, check this out.
5- Check out live cams in Italy
With people staying at home because of the pandemic, the most crowded and touristic places in Italy can be seen without anyone in it. Live streaming webcams for tourism and entertainment are an easy way to take a virtual trip not only to Italy, but around the whole world.
Check out the website Skylineswebcams.com and explore unique location in all their glory: no crowds, no traffic, no filters. Have you ever seen the stairway of Piazza di Spagna completely empty?
6 – Plan your future travels to Italy
Be inspired by Instagram pictures and Blog posts about Italy, and make a list of all the places that you might want to visit when we will be able to travel again. Check out this section for some intriguing content.
Do you know any other way to take a virtual trip to Italy?
Let me know by leaving a comment below.